Without a doubt, Stephen Hawking is the most famous living scientist; indeed, his public visibility in all of history seems to be rivaled only by Einstein and easily eclipses giants of physics such as Bohr and Dirac.
Media portrayals of Hawking focus mainly on two points: His popular science writings such as "A Brief History of Time", and the intriguing contrast between his physical disability and mental prowess.
What is almost never mentioned, however, is what Hawking actually did in his active time as a physics researcher. His long history of winning awards and holding one of the most prestigious professorships in the world speaks for itself. I would like to hear from people active in physics today how Prof. Hawking influenced their field away from the media circus that surrounds celebrity.
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